Closing Bell

FIFA President Gianni Infantino told representatives of the governing body’s member associations over the weekend that he believes FIFA “can top the $15 billion mark” in revenue during the four-year cycle that includes the just-completed 2026 World Cup in North America. The remark, which FIFA included in a public communication Saturday, has been misinterpreted by several media outlets over the past two days as a revenue figure for the World Cup itself.

A FIFA spokesperson confirmed that the figure represents Infantino’s expectation for FIFA’s total revenue across the entire 2023-2026 cycle. While the World Cup accounts for most of FIFA’s revenue in a given four-year cycle, the revenue projection also includes $2B generated by last summer’s Club World Cup in North America and $570M generated by the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, along with revenue from other FIFA events and commercial activity during the four-year period. FIFA’s most recent revenue projection for the cycle, issued prior to the World Cup, was $13B. If Infantino’s $15B estimate proves accurate when FIFA releases its detailed 2023-2026 financial results early next year, the governing body will have exceeded its cycle-wide revenue projection by about $2B, an overperformance attributable to the World Cup.

Sources cited by The Guardian said the overperformance stems largely from higher-than-expected World Cup ticketing and hospitality revenue. That makes sense given that most media-rights and sponsorship revenue is contracted well in advance, while the tournament’s ticketing and hospitality results are more susceptible to fluctuations in demand and pricing during the run-up to the competition.

In its revised budget for the 2023-2026 cycle, FIFA projected $4.26B in broadcast-rights revenue, $3.1B from ticketing and hospitality, $2.85B from marketing rights, $2B from the 2025 Club World Cup, $400M from licensing rights and $393M in other revenue and income.

While Dallas Stadium hosted more World Cup games than any other venue (nine), it was N.Y. N.J. Stadium that hosted the most total fans over the course of the tournament -- with 645,186 coming through the turnstiles in East Rutherford. That figure, spread across eight games, comes out to an average of 80,648 fans per game.

But while that easily was the highest average attendance of any U.S. venue, it was actually Mexico City Stadium that recorded the highest average attendance overall at 80,824 (played across five games, a total of 404,120 fans).

Mexico City Stadium and B.C. Place Vancouver were the only two stadiums that earned the distinction of reaching 100% of possible capacity for the tournament, though every stadium that hosted games reached at least 99% capacity (SBJ).

SBJ’s Emma Grace Patrick contributed to this report.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said multiple recent reports that SEC leadership has considered a plan to break away from the NCAA and govern itself are “real.” He added, “People have talked about that. They’ve opined about the frustrations that bring them to the point of saying we should look at something significantly different.” Sankey and other college sports leaders have asked Congress to reform the world of intercollegiate athletics, but their preferred bills “have stalled,” and current legislation, the Protect College Sports Act, does not currently have the SEC or Big Ten’s support. Sankey also said that the rest of the college sports world is “not adapting at the rate the SEC would like.” Sankey “did acknowledge that operating within a national structure with other conferences does bring a benefit.” Sankey: “There is meaning and value and I do think a national expectation that we participate in a national organization. But that national organization must function in a healthy manner” (AL.com, 7/20).

Sankey said Monday that he “continues to have conversations with congressional leaders about the Protect College Sports Act but stopped short of saying whether all the conference’s suggested changes need to be implemented for it to support the bill.” Sankey said that the SEC “has offered ‘10 commonsense suggestions’ that center on four key principles -- national standards that must be enforceable; a national framework to limit state laws that are meant to circumvent rules; transparency and accountability; and establishing fair and consistent standards for organizations while preserving voluntary decision-making.” One of the portions of the bill the SEC is “firmly against would allow conferences the option to pool their media rights.” There also has been “extended conversation about current language concerning the formation of super leagues” (ESPN.com, 7/20).

Sources cited by ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel said that the “latest discussions about the Protect College Sports Act’s most scrutinized section -- realignment restrictions -- has a new focus.” The discussion “centers around leagues being capped at 19 programs.” For a league to leave a power conference to join another, they would “have to play five years as an independent.” The Group of 6 schools would also “be allowed to move up in the latest discussions.” The current version of the bill “was set to freeze all of the leagues making more than” $700M in revenue, and “that was met with strong pushback” (X, 7/20).

Dodgers and Lakers owner Mark Walter’s “sprawling investment empire” is “facing scrutiny” from U.S. prosecutors, who have been “investigating potential financial improprieties at two of his insurance companies and at Guggenheim Partners LLC,” according to sources cited by BLOOMBERG NEWS. Last year, federal prosecutors in Manhattan began examining Guggenheim’s $362B money management arm. Prosecutors have more “recently shown interest in Walter’s Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co.” Prosecutors are seeking to know “whether the companies failed to disclose that certain private credit investments backed other parts of Walter’s business empire.” That investigation is “being conducted in parallel” with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Sources added that the FBI “executed at least one search warrant in September to seize a mobile phone.” It could not be determined which part of the investigation the seizure related to. In addition to the Dodgers and Lakers, Walter owns Premier League club Chelsea and is the primary financier of the PWHL. Walter controls the insurers and has a stake in Guggenheim through his TWG Global holding company. TWG in a statement said the firm “is aware of and cooperating with the investigation.” A Guggenheim representative had no immediate comment. Group 1001, the parent company of Delaware Life and Clear Spring, said that it is “cooperating with investigators” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 7/20).

The Twins and Phillies have dropped their uniforms for the “Field of Dreams” game. The Twins are sporting an “all-white with navy blue pinstripes and a similarly colored ‘Twins’ wordmark across the front that has a red trim.” The tail of “the ‘s’ in ‘Twins’ curves to underline the team name.” It is a “familiar navy blue cap for Minnesota with the interlocked white ‘T’ and red ‘C’ on the front.” The “Minnie and Paul” logo appears on the Twins’ sleeve patch. The Phillies are “throwing it back with a look inspired by the road uniforms worn from 1939 to 1941.” It is a “gray look with a red ‘Phillies’ wordmark across the chest.” The wordmark is “slanted and features a navy outline.” The Phillies’ “simple navy blue cap has a bold red ‘P.’” There is a special sleeve patch for the Phillies and is a “replica of what Philadelphia wore in 1939, when the league celebrated what was then thought as baseball’s centennial anniversary” (ESPN.com, 7/20).

Meanwhile, agriculture company John Deere was announced on Monday as the presenting sponsor for the “Field of Dreams” game. John Deere and MLB also announced “plans to host a volunteer meal-packing event in conjunction with the game” (QUAD CITIES BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/20).

The Univ. of Iowa and Univ. of Kansas baseball teams “will become the first power-conference college programs to compete at the Field of Dreams Ballpark.” The fall exhibition scheduled for Oct. 10 (THE ATHLETIC, 7/20).

Canadian-based technology company Mobii Systems Group, which supplied LIV Golf’s “Any Shot, Any Time” features during its broadcasts, “has sued the league for more than $1 million for outstanding unpaid invoices and lost revenue.” The lawsuit alleges that LIV Golf “failed to pay its licensing fee” of $820,600 and $104,500 “in usage fees this season.” Mobii Systems is also “seeking additional damages of $209,531 in lost revenue for the remaining six events in 2026 after it says LIV Golf breached its two-year contract, which was set to expire Dec. 31.” The lawsuit said that the league “paid all of its invoices for the product in 2025.” In an email on May 25, LIV SVP/Technology Nick Connor “notified Mobii that the league wouldn’t continue using its technology at its tournament in South Korea ... or its remaining five events this year as it evaluated its ‘business model, our partnerships and our cost structure.’” Mobii “served LIV Golf with a notice of termination of agreement the same day” (ESPN.com, 7/20).

Peach Bowl Inc. CEO David Epps discusses how the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Aflac Kickoff Game helped establish Atlanta as the “capital of college football” while creating lasting community impact beyond the field. He also shares how the organization is embracing NIL opportunities, adapting to the evolving College Football Playoff landscape, and building on the legacy of former leader Gary Stokan.

OnDeck Partners, the Marc Lasry-backed minor-league baseball ownership platform, has acquired the Wilmington Blue Rocks (High-A Nationals). The Blue Rocks became the third team in ODP’s MiLB portfolio, joining the Montgomery Biscuits (Double-A Rays) and Visalia Rawhide (Single-A D’backs), whose sales were announced in December.

OnDeck Partners CEO Mike Carney said the transaction came together over the last several months, and developed out of a friendship with Blue Rocks owner Dave Heller and their shared D.C. ties. No agencies were involved.

“It’s kind of a homecoming for me,” said Carney, formerly the EVP/Business Operations and CRO for the Nationals.

There will be no leadership changes in the front office.

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